


Christmas Tree

by Chie (Chierafied)



Series: Reader Prompts JL [21]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Muggle, Christmas Tree, Established Relationship, F/M, Ficlet, Prompt Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-17
Updated: 2021-01-17
Packaged: 2021-03-15 14:16:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 463
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28814766
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chierafied/pseuds/Chie
Summary: James and Lily are buying their first Christmas tree together.
Relationships: James Potter/Lily Evans Potter
Series: Reader Prompts JL [21]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/881871
Comments: 6
Kudos: 19
Collections: Modern Marauders





	Christmas Tree

James’ gaze wanders over the rows and rows of Christmas trees. They are all fine specimens of fir, with thick branches and all needles intact, trimmed with care over the years they have grown. 

He has never before given any thought to this whole process of buying Christmas trees. His parents have brought him along plenty of times and he’s helped to pick out which tree they would get.

But it’s been years since the last time and as a child, he'd hardly paid attention to the price tag.

Money, of course, isn’t a problem for James, but Lily has been adamant about sharing their expenses and he respects that.

It also means they’ll have a tighter budget. 

Which normally wouldn’t matter to James one bit, only…

He grimaces and leans close to Lily. “I didn’t know Christmas trees were so expensive,” he whispers.

“Me neither,” she hisses back. She bites her lip as she looks around them. “Maybe there’s a discount section?”

They walk around and Lily’s guess turns out to be right: at the back of the lot, there’s an assortment of more affordable trees.

They’re a sad lot, compared to the pricier ones around them. 

One has a crooked trunk. The other a couple of broken branches. One is already shedding needles.

Lily and James share a glance.

“Looks like our section.”

“Yup.”

“What about that one?”

James raises his eyebrows. “Call me a snob, but I really think our Christmas tree should be green. Not brown.”

Lily flashes him a grin. “Good, you passed the test. Okay, the one on the left?”

“Too small.” James shakes his head. “What about the one next to it?”

“That’s too sparse.”

“Hmm… That one, two trees over? It has nice thick branches. A good shape.”

“From this side, maybe.” Lily scrunches her nose. Walks around the tree to see it better. “It is very uneven. It has barely any branches on this side.” 

“Yeah, but if we put it in a corner we can hide the bad side.”

“Maybe,” Lily says, sounding doubtful. 

“Honestly, try to imagine it standing in the corner with all the lights and all the ornaments on. You won’t be able to tell then that it’s uneven.”

Lily tilts her head and nods slowly. “I can see it,” she says. “Should we take it, then?”

“Let’s. It seems to be the best there is” 

James wraps his arm around Lily’s shoulders, holds her close.

She snuggles up, fits perfectly against him. 

“Our first Christmas tree,” she says. 

He hears the smile in her voice and smiles himself as he looks at their tree.

“Another milestone reached.”

He presses a kiss to the top of her head.

James can’t wait ‘til Christmas… and the next milestone waiting for them.


End file.
